


Would Iron Man beat Captain America?

by apolloxbvcky



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Baby sitting, Bisexual Bucky Barnes, Bisexual Steve Rogers, Boys Kissing, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes is good with Kids, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, Endgame Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Kid Fic, M/M, POV Steve Rogers, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Sam Wilson is a Saint, Steve Rogers Is Good WIth Kids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 20:57:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18818875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apolloxbvcky/pseuds/apolloxbvcky
Summary: “Tony just called me. He said Pepper and him are going to Paris for their anniversary. He asked me to look after Morgan.” Steve said, offering Bucky a beer. The brunet took it, looking up at him.“That’s cute. You gonna do it?”“Yeah, but… I may need your help.”or how our fomer Captain America and The Winter Soldier watch a kid for one weekend while they sort out their feelings





	Would Iron Man beat Captain America?

**Author's Note:**

> it isn't beta'd so there may be a few mistakes  
> i really hope you like it!

It was a Thursday noon. On Thursdays noon, they had a tradition. Bucky would go down to Steve’s house in the outskirts of New York and have lunch with him. Sometimes it would end up with him staying the night, even the weekend, but that was only when Bucky had a breakdown. Being resurrected after five years hadn’t helped to his PTSD. It had been almost everyday at the beginning, but since Bucky had followed Sam’s advice and went see a counselor, he was doing so much better. Steve was proud of him.

Bucky still lived with Sam, just in case. And if anything happened, Steve would be there as soon as possible. Steve had wanted Bucky to live with him at first, but Sam said it’d be better this way. Since after Berlin, Steve had grown to be dependent of Bucky, and that’s one of the reasons he was so miserable during the five years Bucky had been dead. So Sam said they needed to do things separated.

He only ever convinced him once Sam made him understand Bucky needed to start a life of his own in this century, not living hiding in Africa or under the shadow of Captain America or The Winter Soldier. That Steve understood.

So that was their lifestyle now. Bucky had started working for Stark Industries as soon as Pepper heard about his knowledge in Physics. Tony hadn’t been happy about it at first, but apparently Pepper made them talk about it.

No arm or suit allowed, she had said. Not that Bucky didn’t know a hundred and six ways to kill a man with a pen.

The thing is, after three hours and a half inside the same room and a lot of tears (a lot), Tony and Bucky had started a truce. They weren’t friends, but they were on their way. Or so Steve hoped.

Steve was living the retired life. Sometimes he would go to the Avengers compound for parties or to help out Sam on the Captain America thing, but the last the world had known about him was the press conference he and Tony had done to make sure everybody knew who not to call when the world broke down again. They had had enough. There were more heroes now. If it all went to shit, real shit, _maybe_ … But not for now.

Steve had gone back to the past again, too. Met with Peggy, met her husband and one of her kids. He also met his brother, which had been weird, due to the kissing he had shared with his not-existent-yet daughter. But he didn’t mention, of course. A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, now does he?

The thing is, his original plans were truncated after knowing all that. He saw Peggy, how happy she was, how she had moved on, and he realized that wasn’t his place anymore. Peggy had a family, and he had another in the 21st century. He had Sam, Nat, Tony, Bruce, Bucky…

So he told her to dance with him. He owed her that. And then he went back to 2023. And well, the rest is history.

 

Now, it was a Thursday, and he was at his house with Bucky. He had their lunch cooking on the oven, a nice chicken big enough to feed two super soldiers, and they were watching some game on the TV.

“How come there’s always someone playing?” Bucky asked, taking the popcorn from the coffee table that was right beside the couch he was leaning in. His legs were on top of Steve’s lap, and his head was resting on the couch’s arm.

“I don’t know, Bucky. I’m kind of sure it’s not live, though. Do you want some beer?” he asked, now looking up from his phone. Shuri and Peter had told him several times to join Twitter, and once he had finally done it, he had become kind of addicted. He tweeted all the time, and sent the kids everything he found interesting. He had even tried to convince Bucky to get an account too, but the man was unbreakable.

“Yeah, I could use one.” he said, as he took the rubber band on his wrist to put his hair in a bun. That was something else Steve had tried to convince Bucky to do. Cut his hair, like he used to have it back in the 40s. Bucky told him to shut his piehole (which Steve found extremely rude), and that all the cool guys had it long now. Then he added ‘That’s why you cut yours, you can’t be a cool guy.’ 

Steve had missed the bickering with Bucky, and the fact that he was doing it okay made him feel all warm inside. He loved this kind of interaction.

“Okay. Get off.” he said, pushing Bucky’s legs off him and standing up to walk to the kitchen. 

Opening the fridge, he took two beer bottles and then checked the chicken. It had another tweny minutes or so to go. He walked back to the living room.

“By the way, Tony called me this morning. He said Pepper and him are going to Paris for their anniversary. He asked me to look after Morgan.” Steve said, offering Bucky a beer. The brunet took it, looking up at him.

“That’s cute. You gonna do it?” he said, opening the top with his metal finger, and he changed the bottles with Steve. He opened this one the same.

“Yeah, but… I may need your help.” Steve said, as Bucky moved his legs again to let Steve sit back where he was. As soon as Steve’s back touched the back of the couch, Bucky’s legs were on his lap again.

“My help?” he asked. “What for?”

“Well, you’ve always been good with kids. You always took care of your sister, and the kids from Wakanda used to love being around you. That must mean something. Even Peter and Shuri ogle at you when you’re around. You’ve got your way around small people.” he said, scratching his jaw.

“You’d too if you didn’t call them small people.” Bucky said, giggling. “Yeah, I guess I’m good with kids. I used to always want a big family… You know, before.” he said, running his finger around the shape of the bottle.

“You still can have one, Buck. You just need to meet the person.” Steve told him, smiling and placing his hand on his knee. Bucky nodded,

“Yeah. Someday, maybe. Anyway, back to Morgan. Yeah, I guess I could give you a hand. Would you rather have the metal or the flesh one?” Steve shook his head, laughing.

He had missed Bucky’s jokes.

 

 

In the end, Bucky stayed the night. He said it was only so they could go early in the morning to do some groceries for Morgan, because Steve’s fridge consisted in beer, veggies and protein shakes.

Not that Steve had been against Bucky spending the night just because. He loved spending time with Bucky. Even when he wasn’t around, they were always texting. And when they didn’t, he felt empty. He always wanted to check on him.

On Friday morning, Steve was woken up by the smell of coffee. He got up and walked downstairs, where Bucky was making breakfast. Steve sat down in the table, looking at him. The brunet smiled.

“You’re so grumpy on the mornings. Who knew Captain America could be defeated by an alarm.” he said.

“I’m not Captain America.” Steve said, rubbing his eyes. It always surprised him how good he felt when he said that. Like he didn’t have that uncomfortable weight in his chest anymore. Bucky gave him a cup of coffee, which he thanked by smiling at him.

“I know you’re not.” Bucky said. “I’m glad you’re not.”

And that made him feel even better. Bucky’s support felt good. Everything Bucky ever did always made him feel good.

Bucky had made some fruit salad for the both of them and they ate it in silence, until Bucky looked at him.

“See? This is the kind of stuff Morgan won’t want. She’ll ask for pancakes or waffles or some sugary shit like that.” he said, pointing his fork at the bowls.

“Yeah, I’m sure Pepper lets her have all that.”

“No, probably not on school days, but on weekends? I’d count on it. Tony gives that girl everything she asks for.”

Steve frowned, looking at him. “How do you know all that?”

“Their my bosses, remember? And I’ve had Morgan around many days. When Tony brings her in they always come to my office. Well, _she_ does. She likes playing with my stuff. And she tells me about her life, you know?”

“Wait, Tony lets her daughter alone with you?”

“Yes. I’m under permanent F.R.I.D.A.Y. surveillance.” Bucky said, scoffing. Steve let out a small ‘oh’. That made sense. “Anyway. Pepper told me not to come today, and now I guess it’s because they thought I’d be helping you. So go get dressed and let’s go do some groceries.” Bucky said, smiling and standing up. Steve followed him until he went upstairs. Steve sighed.

Morgan and Bucky in his house for a whole weekend. They were going to kill him.

 

“Come on, it can’t be that hard.” Steve said, running his fingers through his hair. Bucky, instead, was looking at the two boxes of cereals in front of them.

“It is. These have chocolate. But these ones are crown-shaped. You know, like a princess.” Bucky said, showing him the cereals.

“You know what? Pick both. She can take them home after.” Steve said, taking the two boxes and putting them in the cart. Bucky frowned, folding his arms on his chest.  
“Fine. But you never let me have all these whims.” he said.

“Buck, when we lived together, we barely had enough money for daily bread.” he said, walking away from the cereals hall, pushing the cart. Bucky followed him, his hands now in the pockets of his black jacket.

“Yeah, that’s right.” he said. “We should get some chocolate milk. And pizzas, or something for dinner. We can make her eat veggies for lunch, but dinner is something else.” he said. Steve looked at him. “What?”  
“I knew you were good with kids, but seriously?” Bucky shrugged.

“Pepper rants a lot. And Sam’s godson has been home a few times.”  
“Right. Miles, was his name?” he asked. Bucky nodded.

“Let’s go get that chocolate milk. When’s Morgan coming over?”

“Tony asked me to pick her from school.” he said, taking out his phone. “Uh, she finishes at three fifteen, she’ll have had lunch by that time. Tony will drop his things before he and Pepper leave, and he has a key so we don’t need to be there, really. We’ll have to bathe her before bed and help her with her homework.”

“Seems fine to me.” Bucky said. “Then we only have to worry about dinner today. We could order in.” Steve nodded.

“Yeah. Or take her to Wendy’s or something like that.”

“Yes. Did Tony mention anything about any allergies?” Steve shook his head.  
“I’ll ask, just in case. I would rather give the girl back alive.”

“Yeah. I don’t want to kill another Stark, you know.” Steve stopped his tracks, looking at Bucky, frowning. Bucky tilted his head. “Hey. Don’t worry, it was just a joke.” he said, putting his hands on Steve’s shoulders. “Look at me. I’m okay, alright? I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Bucky nodded, smiling at him.

“One hundred percent. Now let’s go pay this stuff.”

Steve nodded, walking to the registers. Bucky joking about the Winter Soldier had caught him off guard, but maybe this was how it was going to be now. As long as Bucky was okay, Steve would be too.

They were in the car, on their way home, when Bucky looked at him.

“Where’s Morgan sleeping?” he asked. Steve frowned. He hadn’t thought about it. “Shit, Steve. You’re no good at this. Thank God I’m here. She’ll sleep in the guest room.”

“And you?” Steve asked. The guest room was, basically, Bucky’s room. He was the only guest he ever had, and Bucky even left his clothes there. He had books, he had work stuff… It was like a second room for him. Of course, Sam didn’t know about any of that.

“I’ll sleep on the couch. I love that couch.”

“You’re not sleeping on the couch.” Steve said, using his old Captain America voice. Bucky snorted.

“Okay, Cap. Calm down. You spent $2000 on that couch. I’m okay sleeping on it.”

“No. You can sleep on my room.” Steve said.

“With you?” Bucky teased.

Steve hadn’t actually thought of them sleeping together, but him going down to the couch. But Bucky’s teasing had something that made him want to slap back at him.

“Yeah. Unless you’re too scared.” he said, winking at him. Bucky laughed.

“Like it’d be the first time we’ve done this. Okay. Rogers. I’ll sleep with you. But keep it in your pants, okay? I know I’m irresistible, but your house’s walls are made of thin paper. Morgan deserves better than that.” he said, still laughing.

Steve didn’t reply but rather giggled. Though, Bucky’s words had him feeling some kind of way.

 

 

Steve went to pick up Morgan on his own. Bucky told him to go meanwhile he moved all his stuff out of the guest room so Morgan could sleep there.

So there he was, on the door of the school Morgan attended, trying not to stand out between the other parents. He had his baseball cap and his sunglasses on, even though the day was rather cloudy.

When the rang bell, all the kids ran out the door. Steve tried to find Morgan between all the kids, but there were too many. He was walking closer to the door when he felt something on his leg. He looked down to see the little girl hugging it.

“Hey, kiddo.” he said, leaning down to take her on her arms. “How are you?”

“Hi, Uncle Steve.” she smiled, hugging him by the neck. “I’m fine. You?”

“I’m good too. Do you have all your things? Are you ready to go home?”

She shook her head. “My teacher has the big bag.” she said, pointing to a young woman on the door, holding a pink sports bag.

“Well, let’s go get it then.” he said, walking towards her.

When they were getting closer to the woman, Steve noticed her cheeks going a little pink. That made him smile.

“Hello.” he said. “I believe you’ve got something for me.” The woman nodded, handing him the bag.  
“There you go.” she said. “It’s… Nice to meet you, Captain Rogers.”

“Nice to meet you too, Mrs…”  
“Howard.” she said, offering him a hand. He shook it, smiling at her. Then, he nodded.  
“Well, I have to take this little beast home now. See you soon, Mrs Howard.” her cheeks turned even more pink, and she nodded. Steve turned back, taking Morgan and her things to the car.

He was putting her on the chair Bucky had made him buy earlier that morning, and putting her belt on, when she poked his arm.

“I think Mrs Howard liked you.” she said, then covering his mouth with her hands.

“Oh, really?” he asked. She nodded. “Then maybe I should ask her out.”

“Yes! And then she’d be my aunt?” she asked.

Steve smiled. “Yeah. Maybe.” he said, closing the door and walking to the driver’s seat.

 

 

“We’re home!” Steve announced when he opened the door and Morgan ran inside.

The kid had never been at his house, and she was excited to see what Uncle Steve’s house looked like. She went straight to the living room, sitting in the white couch.

“Oh my God Uncle Steve!” she said. “This is so soft! Can I jump?”

“No, Morgan. Come on, we have to take your stuff upstairs.” he said, pointing at her bags. Morgan groaned, walking to him. “There, take your backpack.” he asked her. The girl took the small, purple bag and put it on her back, walking to the stairs.

Steve followed her, and when they reached the top, he pointed to the guest room. “There.” he said. Morgan ran inside, Steve walking behind her. She got in before him, and guessing by the excited scream she let out, Bucky was inside.

Steve walked in the room, seeing Bucky in the floor, with Morgan on top of him, kissing his cheek.

“Wow, easy there.” Bucky said, chuckling. “Be careful with me, I’m old!” he asked her.

Steve shook his head, leaving the bag on the bed.

“Morgan, leave Bucky for a minute.” he asked her. Morgan looked at me.

“You didn’t tell me Bucky was going to be here!” she said, smiling.

“Yeah, it was kind of a surprise.” Bucky said, sitting on the floor and putting his hand on her head, ruffling her hair. Morgan giggled.

“We’re going to be together all weekend?” she asked.

Steve nodded. “That’s what we’re going to do!”

Morgan started jumping again. “That’s so great! We can go to the park! We can go get ice cream! We can watch TV!”

“Okay, okay.” Bucky said, taking her hands. “But first, we have to organize your stuff.”

Morgan stopped jumping. “Do we have to?” Bucky nodded.

“And then, I’ll give you a snack, okay?” the girl nodded.

“Okay.” she turned to look at Steve. “Can we have our snack on the backyard. My mom and I always have our snack on the backyard.”

“Of course we can.” Steve said, taking her and sitting on the bed. “Take off your shoes.”

The girl nodded, following her orders, and then crossed her legs on the bed, resting her cheek against his hands.

Bucky got up, walking towards Steve and opening the bag. “Okay, let’s see what we have here.”

 

 

After they finished unpacking Morgan’s things, they climbed downstairs to the kitchen, where they sat Morgan on the table as they prepared a quick snack.

Bucky was preparing her a PB&J sandwich as Steve made two protein shakes for them.

“Do you want chocolate milk?” he asked the girl. She nodded. “What about you, Steve? Chocolate milk?” he teased.

“I think I’ll leave that to the kid, if you don’t mind.” Bucky laughed, taking the milk out of the fridge and giving it to the girl.

“Bucky.” she said. He looked at her. “Do you live here?”

Bucky shook his head. “Not really. I just come by from time to time. Why?”

She shrugged. “Auntie Nat was home the other day and she and dad were talking about it. They say you’re living here behind Sam’s back.”

Bucky looked at Steve, who had stopped blending the shakes to look at them too.

“Well, they’re wrong. I only come here when I’m sad.” he told her.

“What do you mean?” she asked, tilting her head.

“Bucky.” Steve said. He knew Bucky didn’t like talking about his PTSD with anyone other than him, Sam or his counselor. It was hard for him to talk about what he had done, or how he felt, or how he was doing. Bucky had always been a private person, even before the war, but after HYDRA, he had closed even more.

“It’s okay, Steve.” he said. “Well, you see, Morgan. I’ve had some… problems before. And sometimes, that makes me feel sad, When it happens, I come here with Steve and he helps me think about things that make me happy.”

Morgan looked at him for a few seconds, her brows still furrowed. “Is it like when my dad starts yelling on the night and my mom doesn’t let me go inside the room?” she asked.

Bucky bit his lip. “Yes, baby. It’s something like that.”

“Uncle Steve, do you get sad too?” she asked.

The blond looked at Bucky, who looked at him expectantly, and then to the girl. “Yes, sometimes I do. But you don’t need to worry about that. Really.” he said.

Whether he said that to Morgan or Bucky, he’ll never say.

 

 

 

“What do you want for dinner, Morgan? We’re going to order in.” Bucky asked. He was leaning on the couch, as usual, and Morgan was leaning on his chest. For the past hour, he had been running his fingers through her hair, and Steve had been watching them rather than the kids movie Morgan had picked on Netflix for them to watch. He had also snapped a picture and sent it to Pepper. She had replied with a heart. And a ‘won’t show Tony’.

Morgan looked up at Bucky, shrugging. “Can we order pizza?” she said.

“We’re having pizza for dinner tomorrow.” Steve said. “Bucky and I bought the ingredients so we can make it ourselves.” he explained.

“Okay.” she stayed quiet for a while, looking at her feet. “Can we order _sharma_?”

Steve smiled softly. “Yes. We can order shawarma.”

“What’s shawarma?” Bucky asked. Steve looked at him.

“Don’t worry, you’ll like it.” he said, picking his phone again to order it.

“Steve, I literally like everything.”

“That’s why I know.” he said, winking at him and standing up. “Bathe Morgan.” he said.

Morgan opened her eyes and looked at Bucky. “NO!” she said.

Bucky laughed. “Oh, yes. It’s time for a bath.” he said, clutching his arms around her and walking upstairs with her screaming.

Steve smiled. Maybe this weekend wasn’t going to be so bad, after all.

 

 

They were sitting around the coffee table, with all the boxes open on top of it. Morgan was sitting on the couch between the two of them.

“If you stain my couch, I’m going to kill you.” Steve said. Bucky and Morgan both looked at him.

“Don’t talk to the kid like that!” Bucky said.

Steve shook his head. “I was talking to you.” he claimed, giving him a stack of paper towels. Bucky rolled his eyes, taking them. He gave a few to Morgan, who put them on her lap.

“Can we watch another movie?” she asked, looking at Bucky. Bucky looked at Steve.

“Sure.” The blond said, handing her the remote.

They were half an hour in the movie when they finished eating, and Morgan stayed watching TV as they tidied the living room. Steve was doing the dishes as Bucky put the leftovers on the fridge.

“Does she have a curfew?” Bucky asked.

Steve looked at him. “I don’t know, Tony didn’t say anything… We should send her to sleep after the movie is over, though.” Bucky nodded.

“Hey, what you said earlier. About, uhm. Being sad.” Bucky started, walking towards him and staying by his side. He was leaning against the counter, taking the dry glasses Steve gave him and putting them on their place. “You know you can talk to me about it, right?” Steve looked at him, giving him a soft smile. “I know. I like to save it for therapy though.”

“I didn’t know you were going to therapy.” he said.

“Yeah, because I never told you. I started after the… dusting.” he said. He closed the tap and leaned against the counter, too. “It was a small group, just to support each other. After we killed Thanos, I decided maybe I needed professional help. Sam helped in that area.” Bucky nodded.

“That’s nice. Thanks for telling me.” he said. And then, he took a step closer and hugged Steve. Steve hugged back, hiding his head on Bucky’s shoulder, breathing him in. Bucky held tighter.

“Thanks for listening to me.” Steve said.

 

  
After that, they both went to the living room, and sat with Morgan to finish the movie. She fell asleep before it ended, so Steve took her upstairs and put her in bed.

When he was tucking her in, Morgan opened his eyes a bit.

“Hey, kid.” he said, caressing her forehead. “Go back to sleep, okay?”

Morgan smiled, opening his arms so he would hug her. Steve did, and when they were breaking apart, Morgan whispered something.  
“Will you call me if Bucky has a nightmare?” she asked. Steve smiled down at her.  
“If he wants to, I will.” Morgan nodded, and closed her eyes again.

Steve left the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, sighing. Day One of babysitting hadn’t been that hard. He had had fun, even. He went back downstairs, but when he was in the middle, he saw Bucky turning off the TV.

“Hey.” he said, making the brunet look at him. “Going to bed?”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah. I’m a bit tired. And my shoulder’s sore.” he put his hand on his left shoulder, massaging it.

“Okay. I’ll go with you.” he decided, walking back upstairs.

“You don’t have to.” Bucky’s voice said behind him.

“I want to.”

They walked upstairs together. Steve went into the bathroom first, brushing his teeth and taking a piss. When he walked back in the room, Bucky had changed into his pajamas and was checking his phone.

“I don’t understand why you’re always on your goddamn phone.” he said.

Bucky looked up at him, smiling. “Nat and Sam text a lot.” Steve frowned.

“You’ve got a groupchat without me?” he asked.

“Oopsies.” Bucky said, getting up and walking in the bathroom.

“Bucky!” he said, as the mentioned closed the door. Steve sighed, putting Bucky’s phone on the nightstand and getting into bed.

It took Bucky fifteen minutes to get out of the bathroom, and when he came, he only had one arm. He sat on the bed’s end.

“How are we doing this?” Bucky asked, pointing to the bed, himself, and then, the bed.

Steve shrugged. “Are you okay with me accidentally touching you?”

“Yeah. You’ve been my friend for like, 90 years.” he said.

“Same here. So just get inside the goddamn bed and let’s go to sleep. Kids drain me.” he said. Bucky chuckled, getting inside the bed, and Steve turned off the lights. He turned to give Bucky his back, and he felt him shift to do the same.

After ten minutes, he still couldn’t sleep, and according to Bucky’s breath, he couldn’t either.

“Are you as uncomfortable as I am right now?” Steve said. He heard Bucky laugh.

“Most probably.”

Steve sifted to look at Bucky. He did the same. Now, they were face to face. The window was behind Steve, so the moonlight was illuminating Bucky’s face, making his blue eyes look a shade of grey, and his nose look thinner than usual. He looks beautiful, Steve found himself thinking.

“Hello.” Bucky whispered, and they were so close Steve could feel his hot breath on his mouth.

“Hey there. How did we do this back in the day?” he joked. Bucky smiled.

“We were smaller.” he explained. Steve shook his head.

“So was the bed.” Bucky bit his lip.

“We used to cuddle so you wouldn’t die of frostbite.” Bucky whispered, and Steve had the impression it was because he almost didn’t want him to hear.

“Yeah. Maybe we should do that.” Steve offered. “If you’re okay with it, of course. If not, I mean, we could… we could find something else or…”

“Can I be the little spoon?” Bucky said. Steve smiled.

“Of course.” he replied, and put his arm around Bucky’s waist. Bucky moved closer to him, and put one of his legs in between Steve’s. Steve put his chin on top of Bucky’s head and sighed.

“Good night, Steve.” he heard, feeling Bucky’s voice against his throat.

“Good night, Bucky.”

 

 

 

“PANCAKES, PANCAKES, PANCAKES.” that’s what woke up Steve, along with the weight on the feet of the bed.

He opened his eyes slowly, seeing Morgan jumping in his bed. He smiled, and then looked down at the man in his arms. Bucky was trying to pretend he still was asleep, but Steve knew better.

“Morning, sunshine.” he whispered, kissing his forehead. Bucky looked up at him, frowning.

Okay. Maybe Steve hadn’t thought that through.

“PANCAKES.” Morgan yelled again.

Bucky moved away from Steve, and he felt empty inside when he did. He looked at Bucky sit on the bed, and take Morgan with his only arm to make her sit down too.

“Hey, monster.” he said. “We’ll eat pancakes, just wait for us to wake up a little bit, okay?”

“Fine.” she said, supporting her head with her hands. Steve sat too, rubbing his eyes. The girl looked at them, patient.

“I’m going to put my arm again.” Bucky said, standing up.

“Need help?” Steve asked, looking at him. Bucky shook his head, and walked to the bathroom. Steve followed him with his eyes, only being interrupted when he felt Morgan sitting on his lap.

He looked down at her, who was smiling.

“Uncle Steve. Is Bucky my uncle too?” she asked. Steve frowned.

“What do you mean, sweetheart?” he said, running his fingers through her hair.

“You two sleep together, like mom and dad. And you kissed his forehead. And Auntie Nat says you fight like grandpas.” she explained, batting her eyelashes. Steve was still confused.

“Do you mean… If Bucky and I are… dating?” The girl nodded. “No, no. Bucky and I are… We’re old friends. He’s my best friend. That’s all.”

“Oh,” she said. “I wanted Bucky to be my uncle too.” she said, pouting. Steve hugged her.

“Yeah. That’d be great…” he said, stroking her back.

“But, maybe now Mrs Howard can be my auntie!” she said, jumping on Steve’s lap. He stopped her before she hit anything sensitive.  
“Who’s Mrs Howard?” Bucky said, coming out of the bathroom with his arm on again.

Morgan looked at him. “She’s my teacher and she’s in love with uncle Steve. She’s going to be my auntie when Steve invites her for dinner!” she said, pointing to Steve.

Bucky looked at Steve with an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, well. I… I mean I don’t know if I’m calling her but I… she was cute.” he started rambling. Bucky chuckled.

“It’s okay. Steve, you don’t have to explain anything to me. Call her. Go on a date. You deserve it, dude.” he said, walking to the bed and taking Morgan in her arms. “But for now, let’s go get breakfast.”

Steve stayed there. Yeah, maybe he deserved a date. Maybe he’d get himself a date.

It took him another ten minutes to go downstairs and find Morgan and Bucky in the kitchen talking about her school while Bucky cooked.

“Oh, look who finally decided to join us.” Bucky said. “Set the table, please.” Bucky asked him. Steve didn’t say anything, but he followed his orders. Morgan looked at them, curious.

“You know? My mum always says you two will end up tying up the knot. I don’t know what that means but it sounds funny.” Morgan said, making Steve drop the forks. Bucky looked at him. “Uncle Steve, are you okay?” Steve cleared his throat, taking the forks again and cleaning them with his t-shirt.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I just got a bit dizzy there.” Bucky let what he was doing, walking towards Steve.

“Steve. Sit down. I’ll set the table.” he said, pressing his shoulder.

“No, don’t worry. I’m fine.” he said, looking up at him and smiling. “I swear.”

Bucky nodded, going back to what he was doing. Steve finished setting up the table, and Morgan didn’t walk anymore.

Steve decided that if Morgan kept talking about Bucky and him like that, it was going to be a weird day.

What he didn’t understand, was why.

 

 

After breakfast, they decided to help Morgan with her homework, and then they would go to the park.

Steve didn’t understand how Morgan could have homework. She was five! What kind of homework can a five-year-old have? Draw some people without coloring outside of the lines? Read a few words and manage to get it right, even if they didn’t understand why it sounded like that?

Well, as it turned out, that was exactly what she had to do.

Bucky, Morgan and him were sitting around the coffee table, on the floor, as Morgan started taking all his stuff outside of her backpack.

“What’s your homework, sweetheart?” Bucky asked. Steve looked at him. It was unlikely of Bucky to call people by any kind of nicknames. Before the war, sometimes Bucky would call him Stevie, but that was only if he had been drinking. He missed hearing him call him that.

“I’ve got to make a family tree. The teacher said we should use some pictures of our family, but I don’t have any, so I’ll draw them.” she said, taking a piece of paper and a green pencil.

Steve looked at her. “I’ve got some pictures of your parents we could use. And I guess we could find pictures of your grandparents on the internet.” he muttered, side-looking at Bucky. The brunet didn’t even flinch at the mention of Howard and Maria. “I’ll text your mom, I’m sure she can send me some pictures we can print out.” Morgan smiled, nodding excitedly. “I’ll get to it. Why don’t you and Bucky start painting the tree?” he suggested.

Morgan nodded again, handing Bucky a brown pencil. “You do the trunk and I’ll do the leaves, okay?”

Bucky smiled down at the girl, and started painting some roots at the bottom of the paper.

Steve walked upstairs, to his bedroom, where he had a small printer, and texted Tony for some pictures of him and his family.

Twenty minutes later, he received all the pictures, and a call. He picked up.

“How’s my baby doing?” he heard as soon as he moved his phone to his ear.

“She’s fine. I think she’s having fun. I hope so. She had pancakes for breakfast and now she’s doing her homework.”

“Does she miss me?” Steve chuckled, looking at the printer working.  
“She hasn’t mentioned you. Maybe she likes me better.”

“Nah, she’s just excited because you’re shiny and new.” Tony said. Steve rolled his eyes.

“I _look_ shiny and new. I’m old enough to be her great-grandfather.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Is Barnes there?” he asked. Steve could feel a bit of condescension on his voice.  
“Yes. He’s helping me. He’s got a better hand with kids than I do.”  
“I hope it’s not the metal one.” Tony joked.

“Tony.” he said, putting his Captain America voice on. “Don’t start. Morgan’s okay. You’ll have her back safe and sound tomorrow.”

“You mean Monday? Yeah, you take her to school and we’ll pick her up. Sounds right. Thanks, Rogers.” he said, an then hung up. Steve sighed, taking the pictures that had already been printed out and going back downstairs.

“I’ve got the pictures.” he said, giving them to Morgan. “Your dad called. He misses you.” he ruffled her hair, siting beside Bucky. He felt him shift a little farther. Oh.

“Thank you, Uncle Steve.” she said. “Can you cut the faces? I’m not allowed to use scissors.”  
“I’ll do it. They’re in the kitchen, right?” Bucky said, standing up and walking to the room. Steve looked at him, confused. Why did he look so panicked?

Bucky came back with the scissors and sat in front of Steve, on the other side of the table.

“Uh.” Steve said. Bucky didn’t look at him, too fixed on cutting the pictures. “Do you need anything else?” he asked Morgan. She looked at him, putting her finger on her chin, thinking.  
“There’s no enough pictures.”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, confused. There were pictures of every close relatives, he had checked.

“You’re not here! Or Uncle Thor, or Auntie Nat!” she said, showing him the pictures.

Steve smiled down at her. “You want us on there?” he asked, ruffling her hair. “Then you’re gonna need more pictures. I’ll fix it.” he said, and stood up to walk back upstairs.

 

They were in the park. Steve and Bucky were on one of the benches, meanwhile Morgan was playing on the slides. They had full vision of her. Bucky was wearing his sunglasses and had put his hair on a bun, meanwhile Steve wore his baseball cap. It was boiling hot, but Bucky was wearing his black jacket and had his metal hamd hiding on one of the pockets. Meanwhile, Steve had his arms stretched out in the back of the bench.

They weren’t talking, just looking at Morgan in silence. From time to time, she’d call them or wave at them to make sure she had their full attention.

And she did. She was too damn cute to not have it.

“Maybe we could get some ice cream later.” Steve suggested. Bucky shook his head.

“If we give her ice cream now, she won’t eat lunch. She’s not a super soldier, Steve. Speaking of that, are we going to eat out?”

“I don’t know. Do you want to?” he asked. Bucky shrugged.

“I’m okay with whatever.”

“Maybe we could go to Brooklyn. Call Sam.” he said. Bucky bit his lip.

“Yeah. Okay, let’s do that. Should we get the train or my car?”

“Your car. We can park it in your garage.”

“Okay. Then we should head back now.” he said, standing up and walking to Morgan. He followed him. “Hey, Morgan. We’re going back home.” he announced. Morgan, who was halfway through the slide, shook his head.

“Nope. I want to stay.” she said.

“Come on. We’re going to go have lunch with Sam. Remember Sam?” Steve tried to coo her.

She looked up at them. “Can we get cheeseburgers?” she asked. Steve looked at Bucky.

“Okay. Sure. But then we won’t have pizza for dinner. Or you’ll get fat.”

“I don’t care getting fat.” she said, as she took Bucky’s hand. “Uncle Thor’s fat and he’s the coolest.” Steve frowned.

“What do you mean he’s the coolest? What about me?” he asked, visibly offended. Bucky laughed.

“He’s a king! And he has a super big axe! And he makes it rain!” she started yelling.

“Well, I could make it rain too if he gave me his axe.” Steve said, rolling his eyes.

“Uncle Thor says he’s the only one who can take the axe.” she said. “He won’t even let me try it!”

“Well, Uncle Thor’s a liar. I can wield it too.” Steve said, smiling with pride.

“Really?” Morgan said, his eyes shining. Steve nodded. She looked at Bucky, who nodded too. “Oh my God! Then you’re the coolest. Because you do everything Uncle Thor has, and you’ve got a super pretty house and a super boyfriend.” Both men stopped their walking, looking down at her. “What?” she asked.

“Morgan. We’ve told you. Steve and I are just friends.” Bucky said, leaning down to look at her. Steve leaned down too.

“But… You live together. And you sleep together. And you look at Steve like my dad looks at my mom. Are you sure you’re not boyfriends? My dad once said you didn’t want to be his friend anymore before because Bucky came back.”

Steve frowned. “Tony said that?”

Morgan nodded. “Not to me. He was making a phone call and I heard because I was hiding in his office. It’s a secret.” she smiled.  
Steve looked at Bucky, who was already looking at him. His cheeks were a bit pink, and he looked away.  
“Let’s go home.” he said, standing back up and taking Morgan’s hand again. The two of them started walking, leaving Steve behind, confused and biting his lip.

 

 

They finally arrived to Brooklyn, and as soon as Bucky put the key inside his apartment’s lock, the door was swung open.

“Dude!” Sam yelled. “Where the hell have you been?” Then, he noticed Steve behind the brunet and Morgan on his arms. They were both confused.

“Yeah, uh,” Bucky started. “Thursday night took longer than expected. We’re babysitting.” he explained, walking in. Sam followed him.

“You should’ve texted.” he said, his arms crossed on his chest.

“I know. I forgot. I’m sorry.” he stated. “But look, we’ve got food.” he said, showing him the bags with the fast food restaurant they had picked it up from earlier.

“That’s great, Bucky, but…” he looked back at Steve, still with Morgan on his arms, who looked at him frowning. “We’ll talk later. Hey, guys.” he greeted the pair, walking towards them so he could press a kiss on Morgan’s temple. “Nice to see you.” he said.

“You too, Sam. How’s the Captain America life treating you?” Steve smiled. Sam gave him a side smile.

“It’s… better than expected. Thank you again.”  
“No, Sam. Thank you.” he sighed. “Okay, little one.” he looked at Morgan. “Let’s go wash our hands so you can eat those cheeseburgers, okay?” Morgan cheered, wiggling between Steve’s arms so he’d leave her in the floor and she could run to the bathroom.

The blond followed him, and helped her wash her hands, since she couldn’t reach the sink, and then he washed his own.

When they were walking back to the living room, Steve caught a bit of the conversation Sam and Bucky were having. “This is only going to hurt you, Buck.”

“I know, but I…”

Bucky was interrupted by Morgan running inside the living room, yelling ‘cheeseburgers’ and tugging at Sam’s clothes. He looked down at her, taking her by the armpits and shaking her in the air. “What? You want cheeseburgers? I can’t hear you!” he said, making her laugh.

“I’m hungry! Let’s go eat!” she said, still laughing. Sam sat her on his shoulder, walking to the kitchen. Bucky and Steve still were on the living room.

Steve wanted to ask about what he had heard, but he knew Bucky. If he felt like he should know, he’d tell him. If not, then it’s better not to ask.

“Let’s go.” the blond said. “Those cheeseburgers won’t eat themselves.”

Bucky smiled at him, nodding, and they walked inside the kitchen.

 

 

On their drive home, Morgan had fallen asleep on the backseat, and Bucky and Steve were listening to music, in silence. The blond looked over at Bucky, who was driving. He had forbidden Steve drive while they had the kid, since he was too reckless.

It was true, Steve was the kind of driver who would yell at anyone who as much as made a mistake. He hated cars, preferred motorbikes much more. But if he rode Morgan on his motorbike, Tony would cut him into pieces. And that wasn’t something Steve wanted to experience.

Bucky, on the other side, seemed calmer than ever when he drove. Sure, his brows were a little furrowed, but Steve knew that was because he was concentrating on the task at hands. He was a fast driver, but he made it feel like they were on the slowest vehicle in this world. Also, Bucky had told him driving people around gave him a sense of responsibility like any other thing did. He knew not everyone trusted him, but this thing? He could do. It made him proud of himself.

It made Steve proud of his friend.

“Hey.” he called him. Bucky let a humming sound, but never moved his eyes from the road. “You didn’t tell Sam you were staying over?”

“I forgot. It was kind of a rush decision, remember?” Steve nodded, looking outside the window.

“Yeah. I just… found it strange that you didn’t. Are you having a fight or something?”

Bucky chuckled. “No, Stevie. I just forgot, okay?” Steve’s breath stopped. Had he heard correctly? Did Bucky just use his nickname? He hadn’t hear him say that for almost 80 years. Something in his stomach twitched, and Bucky looked at him for a second. The twitching increased. “What?” he asked.

“You just called me Stevie. You hadn’t done that since you came back.” Bucky frowned.

“Oh. Well. It just rolled out.” he explained. Steve smiled.

“That’s great. That’s good. That it rolled out. It must mean something good.”

Bucky nodded. “I’ll mention it in therapy next week…” he muttered, more to himself than to Steve. The blond looked back front, and the silence appeared again. But Steve had a silly smile on his face. Or well, _Stevie_ did.

 

Steve was bathing Morgan, since Bucky had done it the night before. He wasn’t essentially doing anything, though. He just sat on the toilet checking his phone as Morgan played with her rubber duck.

“Uncle Steve.” she looked up. Steve looked down at her, smiling. “Who’s your favorite super hero?” she asked.

“Uhm. I don’t know… I’ve never thought about it. Who’s yours?” he asked her.

She showed him her rubber duck, which was red and gold, of course. “Daddy!” she said, excited. Steve smiled softly at her.

“He’s a good one. I really like Iron Man, too. But what do you think about Captain America, huh?”

“He’s cool, but my Daddy would beat him.” she said, sticking her tongue out. Steve giggled.

“Really? You think so?” Morgan nodded. “Okay, but what if Captain America had help?” he teased.

“From who?” she asked, putting her arms around her knees.

“Uhm… You know who the Winter Soldier is?” Morgan nodded. “Okay, from him.”

“Why would the Winter Soldier help Captain America beat Daddy?” she asked, tilting her head. Now Steve didn’t know what to say. Maybe he was letting on more than he should.

“Well, I’m sure he had his reasons.” he muttered. “Let’s wash your hair, huh?” he said, grabbing the shampoo bottle.

Later, Bucky had cooked some mac and cheese for dinner, and they were sitting around the kitchen table, when Morgan shoot the question.

“Bucky, who do you think would win? Daddy or Captain America?”

Bucky looked at Steve with a raised eyebrow. The blond looked down at his plate, hiding the blush on his cheeks. “Well, does Captain America have help?” he asked her.

“Steve said the same thing! Why would he have help and not Daddy?” she crossed her arms on her chest.

“Captain America needs help because he’s a self-sacrificing idiot who doesn’t recognize danger when it’s in front of him.” Bucky said, looking back at Steve, who still hadn’t raised his head from his plate.

“So Daddy would beat him?” she asked.

“Tots.” Bucky replied, winking at her. “Eat you dinner, Morgan.”

 

  
After Bucky took Morgan upstairs and tucker in for bedtime, he went downstairs with Steve. They both sat at the couch, and Steve was surprised when the other man didn’t lean on it, taking the whole space and pushing Steve the one corner, claiming his territory.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked after ten minutes of Bucky shifting around, trying to find a comfortable seating position.

“Yeah. Why?” he said, trying to sound fine.

“You usually lean in. Put your feet on my lap, all that.” he said. Bucky’s mouth twitched.

“I…” he sighed. “Yeah, I usually do.” he scratched his beard. “Did you tell Morgan about… Berlin?” he asked, trying to change the conversation.

Steve shook his head. “No. She asked me about superheroes and she just brought up that Iron Man could beat Captain America. Maybe the new one, but not this one.” he joked, pointing his thumb at himself. Bucky shook his head.

“You’re something else, Rogers.” he smiled.

“Hey! I just didn’t want to let the girl believe a wrong thing. By the way, Tony’s not coming for her tomorrow. They’ll pick her up from school on Monday, so we have to take her.”

Bucky nodded. “I can take her on my way to work, I guess.” Steve nodded back.

“I’m going to miss having her around.” he sighed.

“Get yourself a pet, if you’re so lonely.” Bucky suggested.  
“What if I get myself a kid?” Steve teased, laughing. “I could tell T’Challa to send me one of those kids you used to hang out with back in Wakanda. Nobody would ever know.”  
“Yeah, like you could raise a kid on your own.” Bucky rolled his eyes.

“I was kind of hoping you’d help me. Apparently, co-parenting is something that exists nowadays.”

“Oh, right, because the best thing for your retirement are pictures of us on the park with a kid. I can already see the headline: ‘Former Captain America Steve Rogers and Winter Soldier James ‘Bucky’ Barnes get themselves a kid. Are those wedding bells we hear?’” Steve laughed.

“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like people don’t already think we’re together.” he said. Bucky frowned, looking at him.

“They do?”

“I believe the correct term is ‘shipping’.” he explained. “Shuri told me. She didn’t tell you?”

Bucky shook his head, raising an eyebrow. “Not at all…” he whispered. “That’s… weird. Why do people do that?”

“In a world like this, they need something with which they can entertain themselves.” Steve said, standing up. “Come to bed whenever you want to. Oh, and don’t look our names together on Google. There’s some pretty weird stuff around the internet.” he said, walking towards the stairs.

Ten minutes after Steve had finished his night routine and got in bed, he felt Bucky getting in the room too.

“Steve.” he whispered. The mentioned turned to look at him. “People are crazy.” he was holding his phone beside his face, and it showed a drawing of them, naked, on very private business. Steve chuckled.  
“I told you not to do it. Come into bed.” he said, putting down the sheets.

“You’re not gonna make me do it, right?” Bucky said, putting his phone on the nightstand and kicking off his shoes.

“I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to, _doll_.” he winked, and Bucky rolled his eyes.

“I hate you.” he claimed. Steve giggled. “I really do.”

“Good night, Buck. Sleep tight.”

“Good night, _Stevie_.”

There it was, the nickname again. And with it, the twitching.

 

 

The next morning, Steve woke up the first. He opened his eyes, looking down at Bucky beside him. Unless the other night, they hadn’t fallen asleep tangled together, but somehow, they were now. His leg was between the other man’s and Bucky’s metal arm (who he had just noticed he hadn’t detached) was around his waist. He looked down to see his hand brushing against Steve’s flesh one. He moved his finger slightly, caressing Bucky’s fingers. After a few minutes, he pushed Bucky’s arm out if him, dragging himself out of bed. He went to the bathroom, did his things, and then walked towards Morgan’s bedroom.

He tiptoed his way to the bed, sitting on it. He ran his fingers through her hair until she woke up at the feeling.

“Morning, little one.” Steve smiled at her as she opened her eyes.  
“Morning, Uncle Steve.” she said.

“What do you want for breakfast? Bucky and I got you a lot of cereals the other day. Do you want those?” he said, still caressing her head. She nodded.  
“Okay. Then I’ll go downstairs and get them ready for you. Why don’t you go to the bathroom meanwhile?” Morgan yawned, rubbing her eyes with her little fists, and nodded.

Steve stood up, going downstairs to get breakfast ready for everyone. He was making some orange juice when he heard the kid get in the kitchen.

“Would you rather have chocolate cereals or princess cereals?” he asked her.

“Can I mix them?” she asked, putting her head on her hand.  
“Course.” he simply said, getting her the two boxes and the milk. He prepared her breakfast and then went back to get himself something else.

“Don’t you like cereals?” she asked. Steve looked at her.

“I do, but I need to eat much more than you do. I’m quite big, you know?” he explained with a smile, as he sat in front of her with his plate of bacon and eggs. “If you want a bite you can ask me.”

Morgan shook her head. “No thank you.” she said, as she kept eating her cereals.

Morgan was halfway through the bowl when Bucky came downstairs, still sleepy and not talking. He walked inside the kitchen, got himself a mug and put it under the coffee maker. He pressed some buttons and the machine started working. He dropped himself beside Steve to wait for the coffee, and put his head on the other’s shoulder.

“Good morning, Bucky.” Steve smiled down at him. Bucky was still sleepy, so he just nodded. Then, out of nowhere, he moved his head a bit and pecked Steve’s lips.

It didn’t take him half a second to lean back and open his eyes. Steve did the exact same thing. They heard Morgan gasp, and they both looked at her.

“I knew it!” she said. “Uncle Steve, I knew he was your boyfriend!” she clapped twice, getting off her chair and walking to Bucky. “Uncle Bucky!” she said, hugging him.

Bucky and Steve were still frozen, looking at each other.

“Uhm. I… I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Bucky said, giving Steve the kid and walking out of the kitchen.

Morgan looked up at Steve. “I have to tell Daddy!” she yelled. Steve looked down at her, still confused.

 

 

 

Bucky never came back downstairs. Steve and Morgan finished their breakfast in very different ways. Meanwhile Morgan talked about how excited she was that Bucky was now her uncle, Steve kept thinking about the kiss. Could it even be killed kiss? It had been a sleepy peck on the lips. Did Bucky even mean it? It had always took him a good half an hour to fully wake up, he knew that. Mornings never were cheerful on their old apartment.

After they tidied the kitchen up and they had done the dishes, Steve told Morgan to go play on the backyard, and he went upstairs. He found Bucky on his bedroom, sitting on the bed, his head between his hands.

Steve walked in, sitting in the floor, in front of him.

“Hey.” he said. Bucky didn’t answer. “Don’t do this, please.” he asked him. Bucky looked at him, frowning.

“I shouldn’t have… I don’t know why I did that.” he whispered.

“Hey, it was okay. I seriously am not mad about it. Morgan’s pretty excited, though, so it’s going to be a bummer when we… Bucky.” he said, noticing the tears on Bucky’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

Bucky shook his head, drying his eyes off with his hands. “It’s okay. I… Need some space.” Steve nodded, but he didn’t move. He bit his lip and stayed there looking at his friend. “That’s not space. It’s silence.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“Where’s Morgan?” Bucky asked.

“She’s on the backyard, playing.” Steve answered. Bucky looked at the door, and Steve understood at the second. He walked over to it, closing it, and then sat back where he was.

“Are you mad?” Bucky asked. Steve shook his eyes. “Do you regret it?” he asked again. Steve frowned.

“It was just a small peck on the lips, Bucky.”

“Well, yeah. Maybe for you. That’s the thing, Steve. It was more than that for me.” he said, running his hand through his face.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked. He was really confused now. Bucky scoffed.

“I mean that… I mean that for so long, ever since I came back, all I’ve wanted was you. You’ve been the only steady thing for so long, the only one who has believed in me, and I… I don’t think I’ll ever thank you enough. And maybe this started before the war, I’m not really sure. I don’t really remember, but I know I have some… feelings for you. Feelings I should probably don’t feel for my best friend, feelings that would’ve put us both in jail back in our time. And what happened before… I had been dreaming about you, about us, and you know it takes me a little time to switch back to reality. So I saw you there, with the kid, and I thought that… That’s what I was dreaming about, thanks to what you said last night about… wanting a kid and all that. I just… Steve, I’m sorry.”  
Steve took a minute to process all that. Okay, so Bucky had feelings for him. That was something new. The twitching in his stomach was increasing by seconds. Steve didn’t know what to say. So he didn’t say anything. He pushed himself up and kissed Bucky. Really kissed him, not whatever pecking had happened an hour later. He kissed him good, taking him by the cheeks, tongue included, running his fingers through his hair. And Bucky kissed him back, taking him by the hem of his shirt, running his metal hand through his chest. It took them a good ten minutes to finally get apart. Take that, asthma; Steve thought. “That… wasn’t pity, was it?” Bucky asked. “Like, you really… meant it?” Steve rolled his eyes, kissing him again.

“Say my name.” Steve ordered, putting his Captain America voice on when he broke apart to get a breath.

“Steve?” Bucky let out, confused. Steve shook his head.  
“Not that…” he said, almost whimpering.

“Oh.” Bucky said, understanding. “ _Stevie_.” he smiled, as Steve pulled him even closer.

“Fuck, Bucky.” he muttered, kissing him again. Steve pushed him so his back touched the mattress, and climbed on top of him.

They spent a while like that, until Steve’s hand snaked down to Bucky’s waistband, and the brunet stopped him.

“Dude. The kid.” he said. Steve whined. Then he opened his eyes. How long had he left Morgan alone?

In a second, he was back on his feet, and running downstairs. Luckily enough, Morgan hadn’t broken a bone just yet. She was playing with a football on the backyard, making some place on his fence the goal. She ran to him when she saw him, hugging his legs.

“Uncle Steve! I won the match!” she said.

“Really? That’s so cool!” he replied. “That means you must have a prize, doesn’t it?” she nodded, smiling up at him.

“Great. We’ll get you some ice cream later, okay?”

“Ice cream!” she yelled.

“Ice cream? Really? Hasn’t she had enough sugar this weekend?” Bucky asked, coming out of the house. Steve rolled his eyes at him.

“You take the fun out of everything, Buck.” he said, looking at him. Bucky walked to them, and elbowed his ribs as he passed him. He took Morgan in his arms.

“Uncle Bucky, you’re not sad anymore?” she asked, running her little hand through Bucky’s beard.

Bucky smiled. “No, I’m not sad anymore, baby. In fact, I’m really, really happy.” he said, looking at Steve. He smiled back at him.

 

 

They were on the same park as the day before, but today, they were all sitting in a bench, eating ice cream, as they watched the pigeons fight for the bread an old lady threw at them on their right. Morgan was sitting in Bucky’s lap, who had his metal hand on her back, and held his ice cream on his flesh one. Steve sat beside them, with the napkins on his leg so Morgan could just grab them when she needed one. Which was almost one per minute.

“Are you getting married?” Morgan suddenly asked. Steve looked at her, and then at Bucky, whose cheeks were pink.

“We don’t know just yet, Morgan.” Steve explained. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve never been to a wedding. Daddy said if we go to someone’s soon, he’ll buy me the most beautiful dress.” she smiled at him. Steve swore to himself he was going to melt faster than the ice cream.

“Well, if we ever do.” Bucky started. “You’ll be the first to know, so you can pick your dress as soon as possible.” he winked at her.

It was weird. They hadn’t even said what they technically were, they had only made out once, and they were already talking about weddings. Sure, they had known each other for longer than anyone has known anyone, but it didn’t make things easier. Bucky hadn’t had a relationship in his life, not even in the 40s. He was more of a flirt himself. And well, Steve… The further he had gone was Peggy, and they weren’t nothing official either. Sure, they loved each other, but they never… They had only shared one kiss before he had sunk in the ice. So yeah, not really a lot of experience on the dating field. Much less with, huh. Boys. Men. Males.

After the ice cream, Morgan went to play with some kids in the slides. Steve shifted so he could be closer to Bucky, and he smiled when felt his arm sneaking around his waist.

“Hey there.” he said, leaning his head on the other’s shoulder.

“Hey.” he heard. “So, wedding, huh?” Bucky teased. Steve rolled his eyes.

“A bit too soon, Buck.” Bucky giggled.

“I know. But… it could happen, right?” he said, running his fingers along Steve’s side.

“Yes. Yes, in fact, I’m positive it will happen, someday.”

“Someday. Yeah, I’m good with someday.”

Steve’s smiled grew bigger. Someday sounded perfect.

 

 

They were back at home. Morgan was at the living room watching some Disney movie. Bucky and Steve were on the kitchen, the brunet putting the pizzas on the oven. Steve was drawing on the table.

“What are you drawing?” Bucky asked, walking to him and puting his hands on the other’s shoulders.

“Morgan. It’s kind of an anniversary gift for Pepper and Tony. You know, since I didn’t get them anything for their wedding.

“Steve, you weren’t invited.” Bucky scoffed. Steve rolled his eyes.

“It still hurts, Bucky.” the brunet ruffled the blond’s hair, sitting beside him.

“Yeah, kind of my fault. Sorry for that.” Steve shook his head.

“It’s okay. We can invite them when we do, so they’ll feel guilty and have to get us a big gift. Like a car.”

“Aren’t you the extortionist.” Bucky joked, putting his hair up in a bun. “You can buy a car, Steve. You don’t need a wedding for that.”

“Yeah, I know. But that way we’d have one for free. Free things are always better.” he said.

“Steve, buy a car.” Steve pointed at him with his pencil.

“I have yours now.”

“What makes you think I’m lending you my car anytime you want?”

“You don’t need to. I’ll just take it.” he winked.

“Oh, yeah? You coming all the way to Brooklyn to get my car?” Bucky teased. Steve frowned, looking at him.  
“What do you mean Brooklyn? You’re not moving in here?” Now it was Bucky who was frowning. He scratched his beard with his metal hand.

“Uh. I… didn’t know you wanted me to move in.”

“Well, I do.”

They stayed silent for a while, looking at each other. Bucky looked around him, at the white and gray kitchen. He sighed, and then smiled. “Yeah. I think I might.”

Steve smiled, nodded, and turned back to his drawing. He felt Bucky kiss the top of his head and go to the living room with Morgan. He sighed, happily. Yeah, this was something he could get used to.

 

After they put Morgan to bed that night, with no more incidents or awkward moments of her asking things about their still fresh relationship, Steve and Bucky moved downstairs to hang on the living room. This time, Bucky did lean on the couch, pushing Steve to one corner, but he didn’t put his feet in his lap, rather than his head. Then, he motioned for Steve to run his fingers through his hair.

Steve switched on the TV, but none of them were focused on it. They were whispering, talking about when they should bring in Bucky’s things. They decided next weekend was the best option, so Sam could help. Nat would already be back from whatever ‘mission’ she was in with Captain Danvers, so they could use her help too. Bucky said Carol would help too if Nat asked her nicely, whatever Bucky meant by the wiggling of his eyebrows.

After one hour or so, Bucky decided it was time to go bed. They walked upstairs, and were about to go in their room, when they heard some whimpering in Morgan’s. They looked at each other. _Nightmare_ , Bucky mouthed. Steve nodded, and they both walked inside the room. In the bed, Morgan was rolling around, clutching the sheets so hard her little knuckles were white, and tears were running down her cheeks. It broke Steve’s heart to see her like that. He walked to the bed, slowly, putting his hand on Morgan’s little shoulder. She opened her eyes almost automatically, and looked up to see the blond’s open arms. She jumped between them.

“Uncle Steve.” she whispered. On the other side of the room, Bucky flicked the lights on. Steve sat on the bed with Morgan on her lap, clutching at his t-shirt. Bucky sat beside them, running one of his hands down Morgan’s back. “D-daddy.” she said.

“What’s wrong, Morgan? What did you dream?” Bucky asked. Steve knew he had a handful of experience over nightmares, and he had worked that issue on therapy a few times, so he let him do all the talking, while he just rocked the little girl, trying to comfort her.

“Daddy. He was- he was in danger and…” she sobbed, hiding her face against Steve’s chest. Bucky looked up at him, who shrugged.

“It’s okay, Morgan. Daddy’s fine. He’ll come tomorrow, okay?” Bucky whispered. “It was just a dream. Daddy’s fine.” he kissed her head, but she didn’t move. Bucky stood up, taking the girl fro Steve’s arms. “Let’s go. You’ll sleep with us tonight.” Morgan nodded, still hiding his face but now on Bucky’s neck. Steve stood up too, and followed Bucky to his bedroom. (Their bedroom.)

They all laid in bed, and told Morgan some stories from when they were kids, until she fell asleep again. Bucky stroked her face one last time before he looked up to Steve. “She’ll probably wake up again.” he whispered. “I think she just misses him.” Steve nodded.  
“Well. We’ll be here for her.” Bucky smiled, and took Steve’s hand to kiss it. He did the same with his.

“Don’t you want to take the arm off? Your shoulder must be sore.” He shook his head.  
“I’ll keep it. If she thinks she’s in danger and sees we have something to protect us, she’ll fee better.” he explained. Steve nodded.

“I can’t believe you know so much about kids.” Bucky just shrugged. Steve shook his head. “Good night, Buck.”

“Good night. Stevie.” Steve smiled, closing his eyes to sleep.

Morgan didn’t wake up again.

 

 

In the morning, Bucky’s alarm woke them all. Morgan whined, shifting so she could hide her head under Steve’s arm, who was frowning, trying to muffle the sounds with the pillow.

Bucky, on the other hand, stood up and switched it off.  
“Rise and shine, guys. It’s time to go to school.” he said. Steve sighed. He didn’t have anywhere to go to, but he knew Morgan wouldn’t get up if he didn’t too. So he sacrificed his sleep for the greater good, and stood up.

Morgan, instead of leaving the bed, opened her legs and arms and turned herself into a star, ready to sleep again.

“Morgan, come on. You have to show everyone your family tree.” Bucky tried to coo her outside of bed. She didn’t even flinch.

“Come on, your parents are going to pick you up today. You have to clean up nice, so they let you stay here again some other time.” Steve said. She opened her eyes.

“I can stay here again?” she asked.

“If you’re a good girl and get up, you can.”

It didn’t take much more. She stood up and ran to the bathroom. Steve sighed, and tried to follow her, until Bucky stopped him. “Hey.” he said. “Good morning.” Steve smiled, leaning to kiss his lips.  
“Morning.” he said.

Then, he let him go, and Steve went to the bathroom to help Morgan. After she was dressed and her hair was brushed (not that Steve felt specially proud that he knew how to brush a little girl’s hair, but he did), they went downstairs where Bucky had already settled up their breakfasts on the table. Morgan looked at Bucky, who was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt, and then at Steve, still with his pajamas on.

“You’re not coming?” she asked him. Steve’s face twitched.

“I’m afraid not. Bucky’s dropping you on his way to work.” he said, pointing at the brunet.

“Oh.” she said, siting in the same place she had been siting the whole weekend. Steve did the same. This was going to be weird. He had had the house full for three days, and now he was going to be alone again, up until, at least Thursday. That was a bit of a bummer. He looked at Bucky. “Why don’t you spend the night?” he asked him. Bucky smiled at him.

“As much as I want, I have to go talk with Sam. Say goodbye, at least.” Steve nodded, and then sighed. “Hey, don’t be sappy. You’ll have me here from Thursday on.”

“Yeah, I know. I just… I’m going to miss having you around. And you too.” he said the last part looking at the little girl eating her cereal in front of him.

“You can come to my house anytime you want, Uncle Steve. I have more toys there, and we can play more things!” she offered. Steve smiled.

“Thank you. Morgan.” The kid nodded, and then looked at Bucky. “You can come too. Daddy and Mommy invite friends all the time, and they all have dinner like adults. It’s boring, but they always bring kids for me to play with. But this time, I can play with you instead of those kids!” she said, obviously excited. Steve and Bucky laughed.

“We’ll see.” Bucky said, ruffling the kid’s hair.  
“Hey!” Steve protested. “I just brushed it!”

Steve had to brush it again.

 

It had only been ten minutes since Bucky and Morgan left, and Steve was already sulking on his couch. He missed them. He picked his phone, texting Bucky to let him know when he dropped Morgan. The answer was a selfie of Bucky and Morgan on the school door, sticking their tongues out.

It immediately became his lockscreen for the next two years (only changed by another picture of a seven year old Morgan dressed all in blue, matching Bucky’s tie; on their wedding).


End file.
